Folding chair.



R. C. KERR.

FOLDING CHAIR.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 4. I915.

Patented Feb. 26, 1918.

aw flTTOR/YEY mil ; oirrr.

OBIERT C. KERR, 01E READING, MICHIGAN.

FOLDING snare.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 28, ltl ild.

Application filed November 4:, 1915. Serial No. 59,515.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT C. KERR, a citizen of the United States,residing at Reading, county of Hillsdale, State of Michigan, haveinvented a certain new and useful Improvement in Folding Chairs, anddeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of thesame, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertainsto make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to folding chairs. This chair is so constructedand arranged to fold that the folding parts are all substantiallyincluded Within the uprights when the chair is folded up, and hencethere are no protruding parts and the chairs may be very easily andneatly stacked. This will more fully appear as the various devices aredescribed.

In the drawings,-

Figure l is a front elevation of the chair set up. Fig. 2 is a verticalsection showing in dotted lines the positions-assumed by the parts asthe chair is bein folded up. Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the foldedchair showing how the parts are neatly contained all within theuprights. Fig. 4 is an undernneath View of one pair of meeting cornersof the seat bottom and seat back. Fig. 5 is a de tail of one of thelinks that connect the seat bottom with the seat back. Fig. 6 is adetail View of one corner of the seat bottom showing how the spring linklocks the parts together.

The uprights are designated a and comprise a pair of rails which areconnected together at the top by a wooden bar I) which acts as part ofthe seat back when the chair is in open position. The metal cross rod 0connects and braces the rails at their mid portion While near the bottomthe rails are provided with a wooden cross shaft d. Upon this crossshaft is pivoted a pair of legs 6 to the inside of the uprights a.

The seat back 9 is pivoted at its top on the inside of the uprights asindicated at it. These pivots are steel gudgeons provided with integralwashers to prevent binding. The seat bottom a is removably pivoted within the uprights and at its sides slightly distant from its. rear edge inthe obliquelyextending slots j of the uprights. Similar gudgeons areused for this purpose. The purpose of this obliquely-disposedslot is tothrow the seat back and seat bottomout at the back and dispose them inan angular relation which is very comfortable for the user of the chair,while, when the parts are folder together the oblique disposition of theslots bring the seat back and the seat bottom into sucha relation withthe up rights that they are both contained wholly within the edges ofthe uprights. This might perhaps be accomplished by a slot parallel withthe side edges of the uprights, but it would be located so close to thefront edge of the upright and separated by so small an amount of wood asto soon split out at the bottom where the greatest stress is receivedwhen the chair 13 hearing a load.

The pivot pins or gudgeons which movably pivot the seat bottom in thisoblique slot also pivot one end of the links la, the other ends of whichare pivoted to the out side of the legs 6 near their tops.

The lower edges of the side rails of the seat back and the seat bottomare pivoted so that when the chair is opened out, as shown in Fig. 2,the ends of these side rails come together in a tight joint as shown inthis figure. The meeting ends of these side rails of the seat back andseat bottom are slotted to receive the link Z by which the seat back andseat bottom are hinged to getlier.

It will be noted that the rear edges of the legs are notched as at 711so that they straddle the brace rod 0 when in folded position as shownin Fig. 3.

When the chair is in opened out position, by reason of the arrangementof parts as already described, the seat back and seat bottom assume avery comfortable position with respect to the uprights, the twoprojecting slightly back of the plane of the uprights so as to positionthe sitter in the correct sitting position. When the chair is folded,the seat bottom can be grasped at the front and folded up to theposition shown in the dotted lines of Fig. 2. The

the chair for use,

pivots to the seat back.

link is pivoted to the seat bottom draws the pair of legs in toward aparallel position with respect to the side rails as shown in the dottedlines of Fig. 2. Continuing to move the seat bottom toward the seatback, the seat bottom finally reaches the position shown in Fig. 3,where it is parallel with the uprights and contained wholly within theedges of the uprights, as is also the pair of legs 6. The seat bottom byreason of being hinged to the seat back by the links Z likewise drawsthe seat back in parallel with the side rails. It will be noted that thelink Z is rigidly attached to the seat bottom and The purpose of this isto lift the seat bottom somewhat above the seat back when the parts arefolded parallel as shown in Fig. 3. This is important for the reasonthat it makes room for the legs 6 to fold in under the seat back andseat bottom, which would not otherwise be possible for the reason thatthe top of the legs would strike the downwardly-protruding ends of theside rails ofthe seat bottom.

The links is are provided with pressed-in recesses 3/ which snap overthe heads of the pins 2 (Fig. 6) in the side rails of the seat bottomwhen the chair is folded. This provides adequate means to hold the partsin folded position until it is desired to set up whereupon the parts bya slight pull may be disengaged.

What I claim is:

1. A folding chair, having in combination, a pair of uprights, means forconnecting and bracing the same, a seat back pivoted near its top to theinside of the uprights, a seat bottom hingedly connected to the seatback and movably pivoted in the inside of the uprights, said uprightsbeing provided with a pair of obliquely-extending slots for guiding saidpivots of the seat bottom and located near the longitudinal center ofthe uprights at the bottom and extending obliquely toward the edges ofthe uprights as they extend upward, a pair of legs pivoted to the insideof the uprights, and means between the seat bottom and the legs fordrawing the legs in parallel with the side rails when the seat back andseat bottom are folded parallel with the up rights.

2. A folding chair, having in combination, a pair of uprights providedwith slots, means for connecting and bracing the same, a seat backpivoted near its top to the inside of the uprights, a seat bottommovably pivoted .in said slots of the uprights and hingedly connected atits back with the bottom edge of the seat back, a pair oflegs pivotedinside of the side rails, and a link extending from the said pivots ofthe seat bottom and uprights and pivoted to the legs for the purpose ofdrawing the legs in parallel with the uprights when the seat back andseat bottom are folded up into parallel relation with respect to theuprights.

3. A folding chair, having in combination, a pair of uprights providedwith upwardly-extending slots, a seat back pivoted near its top insidethe uprights, a seat bottom movably pivoted in said upwardly extendingslots, so that the front edge in the folding takes the upper positionand the rear edge takes the lower position, links connecting the seatbottom and seat back at their meeting edges, a pair of legs pivotedinside of the uprights, and a draft connection between the seat bottomand pair of legs for drawing the legs in parallel relation with theuprights when the seat bottom and seat back are folded parallel with theuprights.

4. A folding chair, having in combination, a pair of uprights providedwith upwardly-extending slots, a seat back pivoted near its top to theinside of the uprights, a seat bottom movably pivoted in saidupwardly-extending slots of the uprights by projecting pins, a pair oflinks connecting the meeting edges of the seat back and seat bottom andhaving a rigid connection to the latter, a pair of chair legs pivotedinside of the uprights, and a pair of links pivoted atone end on theprojections which engage in the upwardly-extending slots and pivoted atthe other end to the tops of the legs.

5. A folding chair, having in combination, a pair of uprights, means forconnecting and bracing the same, said uprights being provided withupwardly-extending slots, a seat back pivoted near its top on the insideof the uprights, a seat bottom movably pivoted in saidupwardly-extending slots by projecting pins, a pair of links connectingthe meeting edges of the seat bottom and seat back and engaging in slotsin each, a pair of legs pivoted inside the uprights, and a pair of linkspivoted at one end on the projecting pins of the seat bottom and at theother end pivoted to the tops of the pair of legs.

6. A folding chair, having in combination, a pair of uprights, a seatback secured thereto, a seat bottom pivoted to the uprights, a pair oflegs pivoted to the uprights, one or more links connecting the legs withthe seat bottom and provided with one or more snap-recesses, andprojecting heads on the side of the seat bottom over which the saidsnap-recess or recesses may engage to lock the parts in folded positlon.

7. A folding chair, having in combination, a pair of uprights connectedtogether inparallel position, said uprights being provided withlongitudinally-extending slots on their insides, a seat back at its toppivoted to the uprights, a seat bottom at ends engage under the seatbottom, and

merger? its rear hinged to the bottom of the seat back links pivoted onthe said pivots in the sides and intermediate its rear and front edgesof the seat bottom and secured at their provided with projecting pivotsfrom its outer ends to the upper ends of the seat m sides that run inthe longitudinal slots of le s. the uprights a pair of legs pivoted tosaid din testimony whereof, Isig'n this specifics,- uprights andarranged to have their upper 'tion. 7

' .ROBERT C. KERR.

